Chapter 12
Leadership is the ability to influence a group toward the achievement of a vision or set of
goals. No sanctioned leadership is the ability to influence what arises outside the formal
structure of an organization. The trait theories of leadership focus on personal qualities and
characteristics that differentiate leader from non-leaders. Traits can predict leadership and
traits do a better job in predicting the emergence of leaders and the appearance of
leadership than in distinguishing between effective and ineffective leaders.
In general, leaders are extraverted, conscientious and open. Some traits relate more to the
emergence of leaders instead of their effectiveness. Conscientiousness and extraversion
tend to emerge because people are more likely to follow someone who is confident and is
going in the right direction. There are also dark-side traits such as Machiavellianism,
narcissism and psychopathy. Building self-awareness and self-regulation skills may be
helpful for a leader to control effects of dark-side traits. Another trait which indicates
effectiveness is emotional intelligence which has empathy as a core component and people
with high EI tend to emerge as leaders.
Behavioral theories
Trait research provides a basis for selecting the right people for leadership. Behavioral
theories of leadership imply that people can be trained to be leaders:
- Initiating structure: the extent to which a leader is likely to define and structure their
role and those of subordinates in the search for goal attainment. It is someone who:
o Assigns followers particular tasks
o Sets definite standards of performance
o Emphasizes deadlines
It is more strongly related to higher levels of group and organization productivity,
and to more positive performance evaluations. This structure works best in countries
that support bureaucracy and autocracy (power distance)
- Consideration structure: the extent to which a person’s job relationships are
characterized by mutual trust, respect for employees’ ideas and regard for their
feelings. It is someone who:
o Helps employees with personal problems
o Is friendly and approachable
o Treats all employees as equals
o Expresses appreciation and support (people-oriented)
These leaders tend to have more respect and motivated employees. Works best in
countries that support participative decision-making (collectivism).
Contingency theories
Situational leadership theory (SLT) focuses on followers’ readiness (the extent to which
followers are willing and able to accomplish a specific task).
A leader should choose one of 4 behaviors depending on follower readiness when doing a
task:
1. Unable and unwilling: give clear and specific directions.
,2. Unable but willing: display a high task orientation to compensate for the lack of ability,
and high relationship orientation to get them to ‘buy into’ the leader’s desires.
3. Able but unwilling: use a supportive and participative style.
4. Able and willing: don’t need to do much.
This theory acknowledges the importance of followers and builds on the logic that leaders
can compensate for followers’ limited ability and motivation.
Path goal theory is a theory that states that it is the leader’s job to assist followers in
attaining their goals and to provide the necessary direction and/or support to ensure that
their goals are compatible with the overall objectives of the group/organization. It predicts:
- Directive leadership yields greater employee satisfaction when tasks are ambiguous
or stressful than when they are highly structured. It is also likely to be perceived as
redundant among employees with high ability or experience.
- Supportive leadership results in high satisfaction when employees are performing
structured tasks.
Leader participation model is a leadership theory that provides a set of rules to determine
the form and amount of participative decision making in different situations.
Contemporary theories of leadership
Leader-member exchange theory (LMX) is a theory that supports leaders’ creation of
ingroups and outgroups; subordinates with ingroup status will likely have higher
performance ratings, less turnover and greater job satisfaction. The leader and follower
must invest in the relationship. Ingroup members tend to have demographic, attitude and
personality characteristics which are similar to the leader.
Charismatic leadership is leadership theory that states that followers make attributions of
heroic or extraordinary leadership abilities when they observe certain behaviors.Charismatic
leaders are born with their qualities, and have certain personality related to it, such as
extraverted, self-confident & achievement oriented, they also do/have the following:
- Vision and articulation
- Personal risk
- Sensitivity to follower needs
- Unconventional behavior
How charismatic leaders influence followers: by having a clear vision (a long-term strategy
for attaining a goal) and a vision statement (formal articulation of an organization’s vision or
mission). They also set a tone of cooperation and mutual support. They build followers’ self-
esteem and confidence with high expectations and the belief that the followers can attain
them. The leader conveys a new set of values for followers to imitate.
People are receptive to charismatic leadership when they sense a crisis, are under stress, or
fear for their lives. Some personalities are also susceptible to charismatic leadership, such as
someone who lacks self-esteem.
Many charismatics have allowed personal goals to override the goals of their organizations
such as using recourses for personal benefit or violating laws and ethics. Some are also too
successful at convincing their followers to pursue a disastrous vision.
, Transactional leaders are leaders who guide their followers towards established goals by
clarifying roles and tasks. Transformational leaders inspire followers to transcend their own
self-interests and who are capable of having a profound and extraordinary effect on
followers. The best leaders are a combination of both.
Transactional leader:
- Contingent reward rewards for efforts, good performance and accomplishment
- Management by exception (active) searches deviations from the rules
- Management by exception (passive) only intervenes when standards are not met
- Laissez-faire abdicates responsibilities, avoids making decisions
Transformational leader:
- Idealized influence provides vision, instills pride, gains respect
- Inspirational motivation high expectations, expresses purposes in simple ways
- Intellectual stimulation promotes intelligence, rationality and careful problem-
solving
- Individualized consideration personal attention, coaches, advises.
Full range of leadership model
In general, transformational leadership has a greater
impact on smaller organizations than on large firms. Also,
transformational leadership is associated with lower
turnover rates, higher productivity, lower employee stress.
➔ Charismatic leadership focuses on HOW the message is
brought.
➔ Transformational leadership focuses on WHAT message
is brought.
Responsible leadership
Authentic leadership are leaders who know who they are,
know what they believe in and value, and act on those
values and beliefs openly and candidly. Their followers consider them to be ethical people.
The primary quality produced is trust and humility. Authentic leaders share information,
encourage open communication and stick to ideals.
Ethical leadership is about the means a leader uses to achieve its goals and the content of
their goals. Creating ethical expectations is crucial. Leaders who are ethical tend to have
followers who are more willing to bring problems to the leader’s attention. Leaders who
treat their followers ethically and authentically tend to be more effective. Unethical leaders
use their charisma to enhance power over followers, directed towards self-serving ends.
Socialized charismatic leadership is a leadership concept that states that leaders convey
values that are other-centered (vs self-centered) and who role-model ethical conduct.
Leadership is the ability to influence a group toward the achievement of a vision or set of
goals. No sanctioned leadership is the ability to influence what arises outside the formal
structure of an organization. The trait theories of leadership focus on personal qualities and
characteristics that differentiate leader from non-leaders. Traits can predict leadership and
traits do a better job in predicting the emergence of leaders and the appearance of
leadership than in distinguishing between effective and ineffective leaders.
In general, leaders are extraverted, conscientious and open. Some traits relate more to the
emergence of leaders instead of their effectiveness. Conscientiousness and extraversion
tend to emerge because people are more likely to follow someone who is confident and is
going in the right direction. There are also dark-side traits such as Machiavellianism,
narcissism and psychopathy. Building self-awareness and self-regulation skills may be
helpful for a leader to control effects of dark-side traits. Another trait which indicates
effectiveness is emotional intelligence which has empathy as a core component and people
with high EI tend to emerge as leaders.
Behavioral theories
Trait research provides a basis for selecting the right people for leadership. Behavioral
theories of leadership imply that people can be trained to be leaders:
- Initiating structure: the extent to which a leader is likely to define and structure their
role and those of subordinates in the search for goal attainment. It is someone who:
o Assigns followers particular tasks
o Sets definite standards of performance
o Emphasizes deadlines
It is more strongly related to higher levels of group and organization productivity,
and to more positive performance evaluations. This structure works best in countries
that support bureaucracy and autocracy (power distance)
- Consideration structure: the extent to which a person’s job relationships are
characterized by mutual trust, respect for employees’ ideas and regard for their
feelings. It is someone who:
o Helps employees with personal problems
o Is friendly and approachable
o Treats all employees as equals
o Expresses appreciation and support (people-oriented)
These leaders tend to have more respect and motivated employees. Works best in
countries that support participative decision-making (collectivism).
Contingency theories
Situational leadership theory (SLT) focuses on followers’ readiness (the extent to which
followers are willing and able to accomplish a specific task).
A leader should choose one of 4 behaviors depending on follower readiness when doing a
task:
1. Unable and unwilling: give clear and specific directions.
,2. Unable but willing: display a high task orientation to compensate for the lack of ability,
and high relationship orientation to get them to ‘buy into’ the leader’s desires.
3. Able but unwilling: use a supportive and participative style.
4. Able and willing: don’t need to do much.
This theory acknowledges the importance of followers and builds on the logic that leaders
can compensate for followers’ limited ability and motivation.
Path goal theory is a theory that states that it is the leader’s job to assist followers in
attaining their goals and to provide the necessary direction and/or support to ensure that
their goals are compatible with the overall objectives of the group/organization. It predicts:
- Directive leadership yields greater employee satisfaction when tasks are ambiguous
or stressful than when they are highly structured. It is also likely to be perceived as
redundant among employees with high ability or experience.
- Supportive leadership results in high satisfaction when employees are performing
structured tasks.
Leader participation model is a leadership theory that provides a set of rules to determine
the form and amount of participative decision making in different situations.
Contemporary theories of leadership
Leader-member exchange theory (LMX) is a theory that supports leaders’ creation of
ingroups and outgroups; subordinates with ingroup status will likely have higher
performance ratings, less turnover and greater job satisfaction. The leader and follower
must invest in the relationship. Ingroup members tend to have demographic, attitude and
personality characteristics which are similar to the leader.
Charismatic leadership is leadership theory that states that followers make attributions of
heroic or extraordinary leadership abilities when they observe certain behaviors.Charismatic
leaders are born with their qualities, and have certain personality related to it, such as
extraverted, self-confident & achievement oriented, they also do/have the following:
- Vision and articulation
- Personal risk
- Sensitivity to follower needs
- Unconventional behavior
How charismatic leaders influence followers: by having a clear vision (a long-term strategy
for attaining a goal) and a vision statement (formal articulation of an organization’s vision or
mission). They also set a tone of cooperation and mutual support. They build followers’ self-
esteem and confidence with high expectations and the belief that the followers can attain
them. The leader conveys a new set of values for followers to imitate.
People are receptive to charismatic leadership when they sense a crisis, are under stress, or
fear for their lives. Some personalities are also susceptible to charismatic leadership, such as
someone who lacks self-esteem.
Many charismatics have allowed personal goals to override the goals of their organizations
such as using recourses for personal benefit or violating laws and ethics. Some are also too
successful at convincing their followers to pursue a disastrous vision.
, Transactional leaders are leaders who guide their followers towards established goals by
clarifying roles and tasks. Transformational leaders inspire followers to transcend their own
self-interests and who are capable of having a profound and extraordinary effect on
followers. The best leaders are a combination of both.
Transactional leader:
- Contingent reward rewards for efforts, good performance and accomplishment
- Management by exception (active) searches deviations from the rules
- Management by exception (passive) only intervenes when standards are not met
- Laissez-faire abdicates responsibilities, avoids making decisions
Transformational leader:
- Idealized influence provides vision, instills pride, gains respect
- Inspirational motivation high expectations, expresses purposes in simple ways
- Intellectual stimulation promotes intelligence, rationality and careful problem-
solving
- Individualized consideration personal attention, coaches, advises.
Full range of leadership model
In general, transformational leadership has a greater
impact on smaller organizations than on large firms. Also,
transformational leadership is associated with lower
turnover rates, higher productivity, lower employee stress.
➔ Charismatic leadership focuses on HOW the message is
brought.
➔ Transformational leadership focuses on WHAT message
is brought.
Responsible leadership
Authentic leadership are leaders who know who they are,
know what they believe in and value, and act on those
values and beliefs openly and candidly. Their followers consider them to be ethical people.
The primary quality produced is trust and humility. Authentic leaders share information,
encourage open communication and stick to ideals.
Ethical leadership is about the means a leader uses to achieve its goals and the content of
their goals. Creating ethical expectations is crucial. Leaders who are ethical tend to have
followers who are more willing to bring problems to the leader’s attention. Leaders who
treat their followers ethically and authentically tend to be more effective. Unethical leaders
use their charisma to enhance power over followers, directed towards self-serving ends.
Socialized charismatic leadership is a leadership concept that states that leaders convey
values that are other-centered (vs self-centered) and who role-model ethical conduct.
